Forgive, But Don't Forget
by PilloTheStarplestian
Summary: (Set 3 days after the movie) Vanellope is enjoying life, now that Ralph has helped her become a racer and her home is back to normal. Everything is normal, right? Vanellope is still hurt about how her piers treated her in the past, and the Sugar Rush racers don't know what to think. As other lost things start to come to light, can Vanellope truly find absolution?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: A Talk With A Friend

The Cybugs were destroyed, Turbo was gone, Sugar Rush was back to normal, and everyone was happy. Vanellope Von Schweetz was back in place as the Disney princ- (ahem) PRESIDENT of Sugar Rush. She was living her dream as an incredible racer, and the arcade gamers loved her for it. Especially because of her unique-teleporting-glitchy-Midna powers! Most importantly, she had new friends in Wreck-It-Ralph, and (to a lesser extent) Fix-It Felix Jr. and Seargent Tamora Jean Calhoun, all of which she considered to be her surrogate family.

Vanellope was truly happy for the first time in years. Once Litwak's arcade closed, Vanellope left Sugar Rush to go visit Ralph.

"I wonder what Ralph's game is like?" she said to herself as she entered Game Central Station. Ralph had promised her a tour of his game once the arcade closed. Though she was a bit miffed when Ralph told her that Niceland wasn't made of candy, she still wanted to visit. Vanellope boarded the train to the game in question, Fix-It Felix Jr. She liked the train. She made train-like sound effects.

"Chugga chugga, choo choo!" she shouted. This gained curious glances from other game characters riding the train, which urged Vanellope to calm down. Once she arrived in the game, Vanellope gasped at the scenery.

"Wow! Everything is so…square!" she remarked towards the pixelated design of the classic 8-bit game. She immediately took notice of a smoothly running blue river, a huge pile of bricks, and a brightly lit building in the center of the landscape.

"Hey, kid!" a loud voice boomed from nearby. Vanellope looked to see Ralph walking towards her. He was accompanied by Felix and Calhoun.

"Ralph!" she called back, and ran over to hug him.

"Good to see you, Vanellope", said the giant as he returned the hug.  
"Happy to see you too, buddy! Hi, Uncle Felix!" Vanellope greeted Felix with a hug also.  
"Hello, young lady!" Felix replied. "How are things in Sugar Rush?"  
Vanellope jumped up and down. "GREAT! I'm SUPER popular with the gamers, and I won 46 races today! That's gotta be a new record."  
Felix applauded. "Good job, Miss President", he said with praise.

Vanellope then hopped in front of Calhoun and stood at attention, giving a salute. "President Vanellope reporting for duty, Commander!" she said, and giggled at the word 'duty'. Calhoun cracked a small smile and returned the salute.  
"At ease, soldier," the sergeant replied. "Glad to see things are ship shape with you."

"So, ya ready for a tour of the place, kid?" asked Ralph, putting Vanellope on his shoulders.  
"Of course! Onward, my royal chump!" replied the energetic girl. The two friends walked away, leaving Calhoun and Felix standing on the platform.

"So, do you want to get pie?" Felix asked his tall wife. She shrugged.  
"Sure, I'll try anything once", she replied. "Let's get pie".  
They then went to go get pie.

Ralph proceeded to show Vanellope around the compact game. "This is the dump".  
"What a dump", Vanellope retorted jokingly. Ralph rolled his eyes.

Ralph then brought her to the group of apartments the cast of Q-Bert's game now lived in.  
"This is the apartment complex, and this is Q-Bert", Ralph said, directing her to the small orange creature who had walked up.  
"Whoa", Vanellope said curiously. "What is he?"  
"Well, he's actually a - HEY! Don't _LICK_ him!"  
Vanellope was trying to lick Q-Bert, much to his and Ralph's disapproval. Ralph separated the small girl from the small... whatever Q-Bert is. "Okay, let's see something else", Ralph said, slinging Vanellope over his shoulder.  
"I'll be back for _YOU_ later!" Vanellope evilly sneered, discomforting Q-Bert even further.

"This is... a tree", said Ralph, showing her the square tree in front of them. Vanellope hopped over and licked it without question. She immediately turned up her face.  
"YUCK! This doesn't taste like candy canes! It doesn't taste sweet at all! It tastes like BARF!"  
"You mean _bark_ ", Ralph said with a chuckle. "I told you, not everything is made of candy." Vanellope wasn't listening. She was still scraping her tongue.

"This is the train station", Ralph stated, forgetting that they had already been there.  
"I know, Stinkbrain. We were here already", Vanellope replied.  
Ralph ignored the name calling. "I'm sorry, kid. Besides the building, that's all there is to show." said Ralph, now quite crestfallen. "It's a small game, you know."  
Vanellope patted Ralph's head and smiled. "Ah, it's alright big fella! I like your game regardless. It's a nice change from what I'm used to. In my game, there's _Pink EVERYWHERE_ ", she replied with a shudder. Ralph felt better.

"And here's the building", Ralph said, implying that they had reached the end of the tour.

"Mmmm, Sugar Glass!" mused Vanellope, and she tried to lick the front door's glass windows. Before she could, Ralph grabbed her. "Let's just go inside, okay kid?"

Ralph carried Vanellope up to the penthouse, making sure the sweet little girl didn't put her tongue on anything else. He accidentally broke some stuffs on the way up, but he paid them no mind. He was sure Felix would come through and fix the broken items later.

The Nicelanders were waiting for the duo in the penthouse, along with Felix, Calhoun, Q-Bert, and that Skrillex guy with the cool hair. When Ralph and Vanellope entered the room, they were greeted with a party.

"Surprise!" shouted the Nicelanders and Felix. They all wore party hats and huge smiles. Calhoun merely gave a bored 'toot' on a party favor hanging from her mouth. She wore her party hat more crookedly, and had her arms folded tightly. She did _not_ look pleased. Q-Bert cursed out loud, yet no one minded.

"A party?" questioned Ralph.

"Yes!" chimed Mary. "To celebrate little Vanellope's first visit to her new home-away-from-home!"

Ralph felt silly for asking. The Nicelanders celebrated _everything_ , no matter how cryptic. Be it an anniversary, or Don's paper cut healing.

"By the way", started Don. "Where is Vanellope?"  
"What do you mean? She's right he-" Ralph was surprised to see that the candy coated kid in question was no longer standing on his shoulder. After quickly scanning the room, he saw Vanellope. She had a very frightened Q-Bert trapped in a corner, and looked ready to pounce on him. She almost did! Fortunately, Ralph managed to save the orange bipedal midget elephant by catching Vanellope in midair.

"Hey-hey! I told you not to lick the Q-Bert!" Ralph scolded her. "Sorry, Q-Bert".

Q-Bert cursed _for realsies_ this time, yet still no one noticed, besides Calhoun, who chuckled. After that ordeal, Ralph proceeded to introduce Vanellope to the rest of the Nicelanders. She agreed that they were indeed...nice. Though she was slightly annoyed at Mary for coining the pet name 'Lil Lope', mainly because she stood about 6 inches taller than all of the Nicelanders. She still refrained from bringing this up.

Everyone talked and laughed, even while Vanellope kept licking things all throughout. This received disturbed glances from the Nicelanders, and awkward forced smiles from Ralph and Felix. Calhoun merely shrugged, and returned to her pie. She liked getting pie.

Finally, Skrillex played "Fireflies" by his band, Owl City. This prompted everyone to dance. Felix and the Nicelanders did their usual stiff 8-bit dance movements. Ralph did a Michael Jackson styled routine, while cautiously making sure not to step on anyone.

"C'mon, Tamora! Get in on this. Everyone else is dancing", he said to Calhoun, who had finally finished getting pie. She gave him a hard look.

"No thanks, Wreck-It", she replied, turning her gaze towards the dancing Nicelanders. "I don't dance with... _small men_."  
Felix, who had come to stand next to her, looked upset. _He_ was often considered to be a small man. Seeing that she had upset her husband, Tamora gave Felix a pat on the head. "I'm just kidding, sweetums. Maybe we can dance _alone_ later." She gave her husband a playful wink. Felix's innocent smile returned. He _clearly_ did not get the innuendo. Ralph shrugged, and went back to dancing.

Vanellope energetically hopped around with her unorthodox arsenal of moves, glitching as she did so. Everyone watched her intently, including Ralph. He should have watched where he was going though, as he accidentally knocked over a large candle which caused a tablecloth to catch fire!

"Whoops..." he said meekly. The Nicelanders panicked. Skrillex appropriately played "Evacuate The Dance Floor" by Cascada.  
A quick-thinking Calhoun of quickness quickly grabbed a large bowl of Nesquik-punch and poured it on the fire, effectively killing it.

Quick.

Everyone calmed down after that, and commended Calhoun for her quick thinking, though she paid them no mind. Felix fixed the table.

"Sorry", Ralph sputtered meekly. "Clumsy me".

"You'd better be sorry, Wreck-It", Calhoun scolded. "I was gonna _spike_ that punch". She muttered that last part so only Ralph and Felix could hear.  
"It's a good thing you didn't", Felix whispered. "Otherwise, it would have been useless against the fire."

After all of those shenanigans, Mary brought out her cake. For once, it was not shaped like the apartment building. The cake was big, but looked like a small purple and green race car. Vanellope was delighted. Once the cake was cut, she was offered the first slice, to which she gladly accepted.

"Mmm! This is amazing, Miss Mary!" she said happily. "It's about time I ate something that doesn't taste like bark."  
"Oh.. Uh, thank you, dearie. I think..." Mary replied, confused as to how she should take Vanellope's "compliment".

More disturbed glances from the Nicelanders.

More awkward forced smiles from Ralph and Felix.

More snarky chuckling from Calhoun.

More cursing from Q-Bert.

Noticing these disturbed looks, Vanellope apologized and reiterated that she came from a world entirely made from candy.

"Well that explains all if the weird licking.." grumbled Gene.

Q-Bert cursed.

After the party calmed down, Ralph and Vanellope sat on the roof alone, eating leftover cake. Ralph's slice was significantly larger than Vanellope's slice.

"Well shoot, if you set _my_ house on fire, I'd wanna throw you off the roof too!" Vanellope said, joking about Ralph's job as a bad guy. "And to think, you've been falling 11 stories every day for 3 decades. No wonder your brain is all **PPTBLLPT** "

Ralph laughed at her lighthearted shots at his job. "Yeah, I'm a real Mick Foley", he replied.

Vanellope gave him a confused look. "Huh?"  
Ralph only chuckled and said, "That's a reference only the writer and I will understand." He winks at whoever is reading this story. Vanellope rolled her eyes.

"Anywho, it's not that big a deal. I have the mud puddle to cushion my fall..."  
Vanellope immediately perked up. "Is it a CHOCOLATE mud puddle?!" she asked, seeming ready to jump off the building herself.  
"No! No, it's not", said Ralph, stopping her from going any further. Vanellope blushed with embarrassment, and sat back down.

"But enough about me, ya candy head", said Ralph, ruffling Vanellope's hair. "How are things in Sugar Rush?"  
"Fine. Now that I'm the president, I have to organize events, manage races, fix problems, all that stuff" she replied, as if she had rehearsed that answer. "And when I'm not busy with politics, I'm kicking butt on the racetrack.

"Cool. Well, what about the other racers? Ya make any new friends that might replace me?" Ralph asked, half jokingly.

Vanellope...went silent. The subject of the other Sugar Rush racers was still a bit touchy for her. They were 72 hours removed from the fall of Turbo, and the only real interaction between her and the other racers was _during_ the races. Vanellope otherwise kept her distance from them, and rightfully so: they _had_ tortured her for 15 years, and made little effort to properly make up for it. All the thoughts of her many days as a hated glitch came rushing back, and she had to force them away. Sure, she had forgiven them for their heinous actions, but Vanellope didn't feel comfortable calling the racers her "friends". Heck, she had only invited them to Felix and Calhoun's wedding to clear the air, along with any lingering fears of being executed! Vanellope realized she would have to come to terms with the matter at some point, but...not now. She was still hurt. She was still recovering. And she still had a lot to think about. She also still had not answered Ralph's question.

Noticing his friend's obvious conk-out, Ralph waved a giant hand in front of Vanellope's frozen, pale face. "You... you okay there, kid? Did I hit a nerve or something?"

Vanellope suddenly came to. _"THEY'RE FINE!_ They're-... fine."

Ralph looked startled. "Okay..."

Vanellope's face turned serious. "Ralph... can I ask you a question?"

"Uhh, sure kid. Anything." Ralph replied, a hint of worry in his voice.

"How were you so... quick, to warm up to everyone after they were such butt-heads to you all your life?"

Ralph smiled, getting the gist of what his small friend was _really_ getting at. He replied in a somewhat joking manner.  
"Well... The same way I came to like _you_ after you took my medal, made me fall in a taffy swamp, and called my neck _fat_ ", he said, lightly nudging Vanellope, nearly making her spill her remaining cake slice.

Vanellope frowned and said, "Hey, you _wrecked_ the kart we worked hard on, because you trusted some evil bald wackjob over me. And after I gave you such a lovely replacement medal as a 'thank you' gift nonetheless! _We're even_!" she shot back, returning Ralph's nudge, though _his_ cake remained firmly grasped in his hands.

"And then I _fixed_ the kart, saved your game from being _DELETED_ , got rid of Turbo, AND willingly let you call me Stinkbrain", Ralph retorted, a huge smirk on his face. "Heck, I even put up with your 'duty' jokes".

Vanellope was growing impatient. "HEY. My 'duty' jokes are AMAZING. And for the record, _Felix_ fixed my ka- _Ralph, THIS IS SERIOUS_!" she raised her voice, eyebrows slanting a bit.

"Alright, alright", Ralph complied. "Well, I suppose since they realized that I'm actually an okay guy and now accept me, there's no point in holding a grudge, you know? And I'm content now." He took a bite of his cake.

Vanellope sighed and looked at her shoes. "But how did you get rid of the negative feelings? You know, from their butt-headedness..."

"I guess the positive feeling of friendship overpowers the negative feelings of.. 'butt-headedness'. Sweet Mother Hubbard, I sound like a cat poster..." Ralph replied to his best friend, eating more cake. "But that might just be the cake talking.." he continued, and gave a light pat to his semi-full stomach.

Vanellope wasn't so sure, but Ralph's words made her think. She thought about her past and how lonely she felt in those times. She thought about how sorry the other racers (kinda) seemed when their memories returned. She thought about how she made Taffyta cry. _'Heh...that was funny'_ , she thought to herself. She thought about the happiness she felt being friends with Ralph. She thought about cake.

 _Caaaaaake..._

She conked out on Ralph again.

"Yo! Vanellope! I don't think this emotional stuff is healthy for ya! I'm starting to get a little concerned", said Ralph. He shook Vanellope a bit.

Vanellope woke from her second trance, and immediately hugged Ralph. "Thanks, Ralphie. That helps a lot. And don't worry, you'll always be my best friend."

"Ah shucks, kid", Ralph mused, returning the hug. Vanellope eventually broke away and sat back down. She took a deep breath, pondering her new life.

"You know, part of me can't believe he's finally gone.." she said solemnly. "And I think another part of me is afraid that I'll be expected to fill his shoes... or, racing boots."

Ralph looked at his friend, mulling over every word. He, in fact, _didn't_ know what Vanellope must be feeling. He imagined it must be a lot to take in, having such a sudden change happen to the young girl, and a rather large sudden change at that. Sure, he had gone from zero to hero by helping Vanellope get her life back from the evil tyrant Turbo, but Vanellope had spent the bigger portion of her existence being hated, hunted, and afraid. All because of the wrongdoings of some evil stranger she had no way of preparing for. And now she was at the very top of her game, in a near literal sense. She was the leader of her people, the same people who had forsaken her and made her feel like nothing. Made her live in squalor and fear. Made her forget who she once was.

 _That must be a very complicated pill to swallow,_ Ralph thought. Vanellope then continued voicing her turmoil-stained thoughts.

"I mean, I'm glad I don't have to live in fear of being destroyed anymore, but.. I don't know the first thing about spearheading a whole kingdom. I don't really remember much of what I was like before I got demoted, and it doesn't seem to be coming back to me as fast as the racing did. And to be honest Ralph, that makes me a whole new kind of _terrified._ "

"Look kid, I know you're still trying to find your balance with everything, and that's tough. But I also know that you're smart, and you're tough. You didn't let fear get in your way before, and you're not gonna let it get in your way now. Look at what you've accomplished because you decided not to quit! This is no different. You can _definitely_ be the poster girl for a whole game," Ralph said, getting Vanellope to cheer up a bit. "Just be yourself, you'll find a way. And remember: you are an _adorable winner!_ "

Vanellope smiled and chuckled. "You're right again,Stinkbrain. I should talk your ears off about my problems more often! I might even make you my _official confidante_!"

"Oh, I don't know about that," Ralph replied with a smirk. "I've still got a full-time wrecking job to do."

They sat in silence after that, looking out the Fix It Felix Jr console's screen to the vast layout of the quiet arcade. It felt nice to have a friend they could talk to about their troubles, and it felt even nicer to have a friend that they could sit with quietly and comfortably without becoming bored of each other's company.

The moment was interrupted by a loud automated voice. _"Attention: The arcade will open in one hour"_ , the voice announced.

"I guess I'd better go. I've gotta prepare before the day starts", Vanellope said, a smile on her face.

"I figured", responded Ralph, running a colossal hand over his not-so-colossal head. "I'll see you at closing time?"

"Of course!" Vanellope replied.

"Top shelf". Ralph offered his huge fist for Vanellope to bump, which she did. "Top shelf!"

Vanellope walked backwards near the edge of the building's roof. She gave Ralph a salute, and free fell backwards over the side.

Ralph was _horrified_. "Wha- Kid!" He scrambled to the edge and frantically looked over the side of the building, only to see Vanellope standing on the ground below, grinning up at her friend.

"I glitched down!" she shouted. "See ya!" She then ran toward the train station, waving back at Ralph, who couldn't help but laugh.

"That kid is unbelievable", he said with a toothy smile.

As Vanellope boarded the train, she repeated Ralph's words in her head.

 _'The positive feeling of friendship overpowers the negative feelings of butt-headedness'_.

 **End of Chapter 1**


	2. Chapter 2

**_Be advised, these chapters may be more fun to read if you imagine comical slapstick sounds, like the ones in 80's cartoons, accompanying the actions in this story. For example, a gradually lowering whistle when something is falling, or a drum crash when someone gets hit in the head._**

Chapter 2

The racers of Sugar Rush were preparing for the busy day ahead of them. They followed their usual routine, parking their karts at the default speedway's starting line. They then went to the trackside driver's lounge to wait for the work day to start.

Vanellope, who had since returned to the game, did not follow the others. She sat in her parked kart and listened to music.

Candlehead, who had arrived to the track later than her colleagues, noticed Vanellope sitting alone in her kart. She considered going over to talk to her, but pushed that thought away soon after. She instead parked her kart, the _Ice Screamer_ , next to Jubileena's kart, the _Cherriot_ , and slowly walked to the driver's lounge to join the other racers.

The Sugar Rush racers were talking about things that 12 year olds talk about when Candlehead entered the room. Normally, she'd join this idle chatter, but when she walked in, she was silent.

"Hey, Candlehead!" Taffyta Muttonfudge greeted her tardy friend. Candlehead gave the strawberry-themed girl a small wave, but still said nothing as she sat down on one of the wall-mounted benches.

"So Candlehead", Adorabeezle Winterpop began, sitting down next to Candlehead. "Are you excited about today's races?"

Candlehead still did not respond, but started rubbing her temples. Her eyebrows were knit straight across, as if she was contemplating something with much effort.

"Candles? Are you feeling okay?" asked Jubileena Bing Bing, walking over to where Candlehead was sitting. "You seem upset."

"Jubileena's right", chimed Minty Zaki, her tiny fists placed on her hips. "Normally you're one of the chattiest out of all of us, yet you haven't spoken a word all morning."

All of the other racers directed their attention to Candlehead, also concerned about her sudden muteness. Suddenly, Candlehead spoke.

"Why doesn't Vanellope like us?"

Everyone went silent for a moment, taken aback by Candlehead's inquiry.

"What do you mean, Candlehead?" Jubileena asked.

"I mean Vanellope never wants to be around us anymore", Candlehead elaborated. "She won't even come to the lounge, she's out there sitting in her kart!"

"Everyone peeked their heads out the lounge doorway ( ** _slapstick sounds_** ), to see that Vanellope was indeed sitting in her kart, tapping the steering wheel while humming something.

The racers pulled their heads back in the lounge. ( ** _more slapstick sounds_** )

"Well, maybe she just wants to be alone right now", Taffyta stated. "I'm sure she'll-"

"I think Candlehead's right, Taff", Rancis Fluggerbutter interrupted. "I tried to talk to Vanellope earlier, and she ran away when she saw me coming! No girl has _ever_ done that to me..."  
To Rancis' disdain, the rest of the racers laughed at that.  
"She probably thought you were going to ask her out!" Taffyta teased, making Rancis pout. "And that doesn't mean that she _doesn't like us..._ "

Minty chimed in again. "I wouldn't be so sure, Taffyta. The girl even went out of her way to put her starting position far behind our starting positions!"

Everyone peeked their heads out the doorway again ( ** _Don't you just_** **love** ** _slapstick sounds?_** ), and it turned out that Minty was correct. Vanellope's kart was intentionally placed a good 22 yards behind all the opposing karts.

"Huh. She catches up with us so quickly, I didn't even notice", said Torvald Batterbutter with a shrug.

Everyone pulled their heads back in the lounge again. ( ** _You know what to do._** )

"Well, maybe Vanellope just wants to challenge herself! She _is_ pretty cocky, after all", retorted Taffyta, now seeming in denial. "Besides, she invited us to that wedding a couple of days ago!"

"And she didn't say a single word to any of us for the whole time", interjected Gloyd Orangeboar, a hint of sarcasm in his voice. "Face it, Taffy. The girl can't stand us".

Taffyta was running out of excuses. "B-but th-.. but the- the thumbs up.." she babbled, pointing at her own thumb.

Swizzle The Malarkey facepalmed at Taffyta's stubbornness. "Dude, that doesn't mean _anything_! Vanellope probably turned her thumb _upside down_ once your back was turned."

Taffyta opened her mouth and raised her index finger as if she was about to say something, but stopped when she realized she had nothing left to say. So instead, she folded her arms, plopped back in her seat, and made the most frowny, pouty face she could.

"So it's true", sighed Rancis. "Vanellope _does_ hate us."

That was it for Candlehead. The thought of being hated by anyone was something she couldn't stand. She burst into tears. "W-why **hic** w-W-why w-would V-Vanellope h- **hic** _hate_ us?!" she cried, asking virtually the same question that started this group conversation in the first place. Jubileena and Snowanna Rainbeau sat next to the crying child, trying to comfort her.

"It'll be okay, Candles.." consoled Jubileena in a soothing voice. "You're a very loveable girl."

This did not work at all.

"T-that.. **hic** doesn't-t.. **sniff** answer.. **hic** m-m-my.. **hic** _QUESTION!_ " Candlehead retorted, and resumed crying immensely.

"My guess would be that the Prez is still hurting from the way we labeled her as a glitch", Snowanna commented, patting Candlehead's back.

"Well do you blame her?" said Sticky Wipplesnit, jumping up suddenly. "You all were complete _jerks_ to her for 15 years, and expect that to all be okay without so much as a 'sorry'?"

"Hey!" said Gloyd, looking annoyed. "We apologized!" said annoyed Gloyd.

"Um... No." corrected Torvald, with crossed arms and a raised eyebrow. " _Taffyta_ apologized, yet seemed more desperate than remorseful, Rancis _LIED_ about the bullying all being a joke, and Candlehead here... blamed everything on Taffyta. The rest of you just started whining and begging for your lives when Vanellope threatened to murder your sorry butts."

Gloyd shut his mouth. Taffyta glared at Torvald. Rancis twiddled his thumbs. Candlehead resumed bawling loudly. Torvald's blunt honesty made all the racers recoil for a bit, until Swizzle spoke up.

"Wait a minute, how do _you_ know that happened? You weren't even there!"

Torvald shot Swizzle a solid look, one that made him noticeably flinch. "You don't know _where_ I was", she said with a tone matching her stolid expression.

"But it wasn't our fault!" said Minty, becoming rather defensive. "Not _really_ , anyway! King Ca- uhh... Turbo messed with our memories! We all thought she was just a mistake!"

"But _you_ were the ones who _chose_ to go out of your ways to make her life more miserable", said Citrusella Flugpucker, her eyes closed, face frowning, and arms crossed. "Turbo didn't _make_ any of you do that. Even if she was considered a mistake, you knew she was still a person. A person with thoughts, feelings, and emotions just like us. A person who had yet to harm _anyone_. You have no valid excuse for your actions."

Citrusella made her point clear, also reminding them that she, along with the rest of the color pallate-swaps, had always left Vanellope alone. Sticky, Torvald, Citrusella, and Nougetsia Brumblestein had always empathized with Vanellope. Like their princess - turned - glitch - turned - princess - turned - racer - turned - president ( ** _turned - extremely marketable character for merchandise sales_** ),  
they had often been treated as inferior to the main racer roster because they were indeed recolors.

Nougetsia suddenly stood up and made several hand signals. She was a mute, and communicated through sign language. Adorabeezle knew sign language as well, and translated for her sister.

"Nougetsia says we should have made an effort to get to know Vanellope", Adorabeezle said with a sigh. "Glitch or no glitch."

Everone knew that she was right.

"So what?" replied a new voice from the far side of the lounge. This voice had a distinct Italian accent to in. Everyone turned to see Crumbelina Dí Caramello lying on a bench at the left side of the lounge, bouncing a ball off a wall.

"Eef-a she has-a not let that-a petty grudge-a go, then she eez-a not worth my time", she said bitterly.  
( ** _Eez-a that-a Italian-a enough-a for you-sa?_** )

It sounded like she was just being a jerk, but the other racers knew she was merely bitter about the fact that Vanellope had _'borrowed'_ Crumbelina's beloved kart, the _Tiramissle_ , to save Ralph, and then accidentally crashed it. She, of course, failed to see the hypocritical irony of her own statement, considering she was also holding said grudge against Vanellope. So the rest of the group ignored her.

"Don't worry, everyone. Vanellope will warm up to us in her own time", Jubileena concluded, smiling hopefully. "The best we can do is be kind to her. Agreed?"

A few racers repeated "agreed", while some merely nodded their heads in understanding. Candlehead stopped crying, and a tiny smile found its way to her mouth. Most everyone was at least satisfied with this conclusion, and ready to move on to a new subject.

Everyone, except for Taffyta. Said pink racer was silently seething to herself, muttering her thoughts inaudibly.

 _'Who does Vanellope think she is, trying to guilt trip us into bending over backwards for her feelings? Trying to shun ME as repayment? I said I was sorry, we're even! I don't care if she's the president, she'll never be as charismatic, pretty, or talented as me! She'll never be a better RACER than me! That dirty-haired glitch would be LUCKY to have me for a friend! Oh please, she expects me kiss up to her just so she'll feel special? Well she can kiss my strawberry scented-'_

Her seething was cut short by the announcer's voice, telling everyone that the arcade was now open. All the racers left the lounge and headed for the character select screen. Vanellope hesitantly followed them, staying well behind the group.

Mr. Litwak, the owner of the arcade, opened the front doors of the establishment, and invited in the eager gamers who had arrived. Mealanie Moppet, a frequent visitor to Litwak's arcade, rushed straight to the Sugar Rush game console without a second thought. This was one of her favorite games, something she had in common with many other loyal gamers of the arcade. She often had to be quick, in order to get to it first.

Mealanie put in a quarter, and was directed to the character select menu, where the game's racers were waiting.

 _"Select your character!"_ shouted the game's announcer.

After briefly scanning the screen, she predictably picked her main, Vanellope. Happy to be chosen, Vanellope performed her signature avatar animation ( ** _which is very similar to the shuffle-dance she often did on the WIR movie_** ).

 _"Vanellope Von Schweetz selected! Select a track!"_ replied the announcer.

Mealanie selected her favorite track, the main speedway of the game. Since she only put in one quarter, she was only able to play a one lap race.

 _"Sweet! Let's get ready to RACE!"_ shouted the announcer, and the race began. _"3, 2, 1, GO!"_

All the racers took off in a flurry of dust clouds and screeching wheels. Rancis had the lead first, but was almost immediately overtaken by Jubileena and Taffyta. After a brief struggle, Vanellope and Mealanie passed Sticky, Swizzle, and Snowanna. They then entered gumball gorge, and gave chase to Candlehead, who was trailing Rancis.

Dodging all of the gumballs that obstructed her path, Candlehead was prepared to pass Rancis, when she caught a glimpse of Vanellope in her mirror. She was approaching, and she was approaching _fast_.

Candlehead thought back to the conversation she shared with her fellow racers in the lounge not long ago.

 _'The best I can do... Is be_ kind _to her!'_ she thought to herself, and made up her mind about her next move.

Mealanie had managed to catch up with Candlehead, and prepared to battle the birthday-themed racer for her place. But to the surprise of she and Vanellope, Candlehead darted to the right, leaving herself wide open for her opponents to pass!

Seeing Candlehead's sudden movement in his own mirror, Rancis also darted right, in an ill-fated attempt to block Candlehead from passing him. He knew not of Vanellope's position.

Vanellope wondered why both of her opponents would make such bonehead moves, but she didn't care. There was a clear opportunity, and Mealanie took it. She increased her speed, shooting right by Candlehead and Rancis. Mealanie and Vanellope were now in third place.

Rancis was shocked as he watched Vanellope speed by him effortlessly. He looked back at Candlehead with a frown. Candlehead, an awkward smile on her face, merely shrugged, taking her hands off the wheel and almost losing control of her vehicle in the process.

Farther back, Swizzle got nailed by a stray gumball.

Vanellope chased Jubileena up the spiralling cake tower and across the chute jump, before finally giving her the slip near the frosty ice cream mountains. Now only Taffyta stood between her and a first place victory. Despite the falling snow, she and Mealanie soon gained sight of the strawberry-themed racer in question.

Taffyta also saw Vanellope, with Jubileena close behind her. _Both_ were approaching quickly. Unlike her ditzy lackey Candlehead, Taffyta cared more about racing than her relationships with her piers. She cared much more about _winning_ than her relationships with her piers.

"Oh, no you don't", she silently said. She had been holding a power up that turned out to be a pancake batter oil-slick. She smiled deviously, and dumped the whole load behind her with a push of a button.

Mealanie double-tapped the gas pedal, making Vanellope easily glitch forward, avoiding the pancake batter trap.

The slick did, however, catch Jubileena. She spasticly tried to maneuver her steering wheel and brakes to regain control of her kart, but it was no use. It was _REALLY_ no use. Her out of control kart sped off the track in another direction.

Farther back, Swizzle's kart stalled at the top of the spiralling cake tower, and nosedived into the ground below once he exited the chute jump.

Speeding through the rainbow tunnel, Mealanie and Vanellope were neck-and-neck with Taffyta. Mealanie tried to pass her, but the lack of light and difficult twists hindered her from doing so. Fortunately for her, she spotted a lone power up cube dangerously perched on the edge of a sharp elevated curve. It was a risk she was willing to take. With impeccable finesse, she swerved near the edge, closing in on the power up cube, rear wheels in danger of falling over...

She got it.

Mealanie straightened out Vanellope's kart, getting back in Taffyta's wake. The power up cube turned out to be a sugar boost.

 _'Yes',_ thought Vanellope. _'Just what we need.'_

Taffyta gritted her teeth, annoyed that she hadn't noticed the power up box first. She was going to have to fight _hard_ for this lead. She aggressively cut off Vanellope's every attempt to pass. Mealanie decided to use her boost at that moment.

Knowing _exactly_ what Mealanie was planning, Taffyta made a bold move. She sidestepped right in front of Vanellope's kart just as the boost initiated. Now instead of passing Taffyta, Vanellope was pushing her along. When Vanellope's boost terminated, Taffyta ended up 3 yards in front of her.

"Hmm", muttered Mealanie Moppet with knit eyebrows. "You're trickier than I thought."

"Well played, Muttonfudge", muttered Vanellope, sharing Mealanie's facial expression. "But it's gonna take a little more than that to beat me today."

As she said that, however, the finish line came into view. It was a long stretch, but Vanellope secretly doubted she'd be able to pass the speeding Taffyta in that time. Not even her glitching would help now, as she was only allowed to use it a set amount of times per race. She had none left.

The finish line drew ever closer. If Vanellope and Mealanie didn't gain some sort of edge, Taffyta would win.

Suddenly, there arose the revving of another engine. Accompanying that revving was a loud shout.

 _"Heeeeeeeere's JUBIE!"_

Not only had Jubileena managed to find her way back to the racetrack, but she hit a ramp at blazing speed, and was soaring through the air.

Right at Taffyta.

Taffyta couldn't react quickly enough. Jubileena smashed right into the side of Taffyta's _Pink Lighting_ kart, and both racers lost control.

Taffyta was _mortified_. "Oh, NO!"

Vanellope was _thrilled_. "Oh, yes!"

Swerving so much had made Jubileena and Taffyta loose speed, allowing Mealanie and Vanellope to catch up. They expertly weaved around their swerving opponents, just barely crossing the finish line first.

"Yes!" they both shouted in unison.

Farther back, Swizzle's kart spontaneously combusted.

The final standings were as follows:

1) Vanellope Von Schweetz  
2) Jubileena Bing Bing  
3) Taffyta Muttonfudge  
4) Snowanna Rainbeau  
5) Candlehead  
6) Sticky Wipplesnit  
7) Rancis Fluggerbutter  
8) Adorabeezle Winterpop  
9) Minty Zaki  
10) Nougetsia Brumblestein  
11) Citrusella Flugpucker  
12) Gloyd Orangeboar  
13) Torvald Batterbutter  
14) Crumbelina Dí Caramello  
15) Swizzle Malarkey ( **DNF** )

Having won the race, the game turned to Vanellope's victory animation. Her golden trophy floated down, and she eagerly grabbed it. She stuck out her fist for Mealanie to bump. The happy gamer girl obliged, and shared one last triumphant smile with her favorite character before walking off to another game.

"The Sugar Rush game has some _really_ impressive A.I.", she mused to herself. Little did she know that she was mistaking artificial intelligence for sentience.

Her victory animation still playing, Vanellope looked over to the Fix It Felix Jr. game. She waved to Ralph who was currently wrecking the Niceland apartment building, apparently on level eleven. Ralph briefly stopped to smile and wave back, and then returned to wrecking.

Vanellope strolled back to her kart with her new trophy. She looked at her beautiful smiling reflection on the shiny gold. Yep, she was one happy racer.

Taffyta, however, was _not_ one happy racer.

She was meanwhile raging at Jubileena for her stunt during the race.

"WHAT IS _WRONG_ WITH YOU?! You could have KILLED ME! And much worse, _YOU MADE ME LOSE THE RACE!_ " she screamed, and threw her bronze medal at Jubileena.

Jubileena, who was contentedly sitting Indian style on the hood of her kart with her silver trophy in her lap, effortlessly leaned to the side to avoid Taffyta's projectile. She then merely shrugged and said:

"Look Taffyta, I'm sorry for bumping you. That was not my intention. But it's just one race. You're overreacting just a little." She smiled the whole time. It wasn't a mocking, sarcastic, or forced smile. It was a sincere, happy one. One that showed that Jubileena was not phased at all.

This made Taffyta _livid_.

"Overreacting?! _OVERREACTING?!_ Why, I oughtta'-"

Taffyta paused when she noticed Jubileena look and wave at something behind her. She turned around to see Vanellope standing a few feet away. She had seen everything, and had her eyebrow raised so high, it could make Dwayne Johnson cry.

Surprised and somewhat embarrassed, Taffyta took a quick step away from Jubileena, a befuddled look on her face. She refused to look at the president in her eyes.

Vanellope then smirked and said, "Awesome race, you two." She then turned away and continued walking to her kart.

Once Vanellope left, Taffyta turned back toward Jubileena to start yelling again, but to her surprise, the cheery cherry-themed racer had gotten in her kart and started the engine.

"PEACE! ✌" she shouted at he pink racer. She zoomed off before Taffyta could utter a word, her kart blowing dust in strawberry-themed girl's face.

Taffyta could do nothing but stand there, her mouth agape, her index finger raised, and her left eye twitching madly.

Meanwhile, Vanellope was driving towards the castle to put her trophy away.

"What was _that_ about?" she asked no one in particular, regarding her confrontation with her two runner ups. She sighed and continued on her way. It was going to be a long day.

 **End of Chapter 2**


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Throughout the rest of the day, was played by a number of other gamers. Unsurprisingly, Vanellope stood on the winning end of many races. Overall, it was a type of day she was becoming used to. Once the arcade closed that evening, she parked her beloved kart inside Diet Cola mountain. Since the game reset, all evidence of Ralph making the mountain erupt was also reset, as if it never happened.

Since she now lived in her castle again, she decided to use the somewhat dormant soda volcano as a personal garage and storage unit. Vanellope found this especially useful, because to her knowledge, No one knew about the secret entrance to the place but Ralph and herself. She had even taken the time to rebuild one of her first ever functional vehicles, the _Likkity Split_. The pedal-powered kart held much sentimental value to her.

Once she was done there, she headed to the Fix It Felix Jr. game on foot. As long as she had nothing to do in Sugar Rush, she'd rather be elsewhere. Particularly spending time with her best friend Ralph. She figured they would go game jumping, as Ralph mentioned many delightful sounding games that she had yet to visit.

Once Vanellope entered the Fix It Felix Jr console, she found Ralph waiting for her on the train station platform.

"Hey Knuckles", Vanellope greeted cheerfully. " What's crackin' ?"

"Hiya, President Fartfeathers", replied Ralph with a smile. He ruffled the girl's hair when she hopped out of the trolley car.

"So, what fun junk do you wanna do?" Vanellope asked, shuffling around. "I was thinking we could head over to Dance Dance Revolution and-"

"Here's the thing..." Ralph interrupted, scratching his head. "I've got a bad-anon meeting today, and-"

He too was interrupted by a disappointed groan from Vanellope. "AAAAAAAAAAW, so we're _not_ gonna hang out?" she asked dejectedly.

Ralph put his hands on his 'hips', and continued. "Let me finish. I told the other guys in the group about you, and they thought it would be cool to meet you. So I said I might bring you with me today. If.. you want to come, I mean."

Vanellope looked at Ralph with intrigue. The giant had previously spoken of his bad-anon meetings a couple days ago. She had thought it sounded interesting at the time, but not enough to drop everything just to tag along. Now, Vanellope was totally up for accompanying her giant friend to his support group, but she decided to mess with him a little first.

 _"Come with you?"_ she replied, feigning an irritated frown. "What, so you can impress all your _other friends_ by proving that you know a president? So you can parade me around like some kind of _trophy_?"

Ralph was surprised and taken aback by Vanellope's sudden mood change.  
"Uhh..." he tried to say, but Vanellope leapt up on his left shoulder before he could finish.

"Well, come on! _I_ can be a trophy!" Vanellope said, shifting to a cheeky grin. Ralph chuckled and rolled his eyes, then sat with Vanellope on the train. Before the train left, the two friends caught a glimpse of Felix and Calhoun sitting at a small dinner table set on top of the Niceland apartment building. They kissed.

"Eww.." Ralph and Vanellope jokingly cringed, pretending to be disgusted by the married couple's 'private' display of affection.  
They then left for GCS. The station was bustling, as was usual after had only been outside her game a few times, having been a glitch for the past 15 years. She stayed close to Ralph as to not get lost in the crowd.

She did, at least, until something caught her eye. Ralph noticed Vanellope's gaze, and looked to where she had directed her attention. Farther away, there was a rowdy group of recognizable game characters. Most notably, Sonic The Hedgehog and Donkey Kong. They were both eating piles of bananas, clearly trying to finish before each other. They were surrounded by a group of other video game icons. All were chanting _'Eat! Eat! Eat! Eat!'_

"What are they doing?" Ralph asked, a befuddled look on his face. He looked to his side to see that Vanellope...

...was not there.

He quickly looked up again, and saw Vanellope running towards the crowd at the banana eating contest. The wrecker shook his head, and followed after the small girl.

"Done!" shouted Sonic The Hedgehog, and he pushed forward an empty plate. He then looked to the plate belonging to the giant ape standing beside him. There was a single banana left on it. The group cheered and lifted Sonic up, while Donkey Kong nodded in defeat. Sonic was enjoying the praise, when he heard a high voice.

"Hey, Speedster! What's up?" Vanellope said, approaching the blue hedgehog. She had met Sonic at Felix and Calhoun's wedding, and the two quickly became fast friends. ( ** _Get it?_** )

Sonic smiled and hopped to his feet. "Hey, Van! I'm betting any challengers that I can beat them in their own contest of speed", he said confidently. "In other words, anything you can do, _I_ can do _faster_."

"Is that so?" the candy covered girl replied with a devious smirk. "In that case, I challenge you, Mr. Hedgehog."

Ralph arrived in time to hear the whole ordeal happen.

"Hm, alright", Sonic replied with a cocky smile. "And let me guess, you want a go-kart race?"

"Nope", Vanellope retorted cooly. "Though that does sound fun, it'll have to wait until another time."

"Okay, _Princess_ ", Sonic said with a chuckle. "Then what challenge _do_ you have in mind for _the fastest thing alive_?"

Vanellope stepped closer. "I bet you ten golden Sugar Rush coins that I can count to ten faster than you." She pulled a stack of 10 coins from behind her back. ( ** _How'd she do that?_** ) The surrounding group was puzzled by Vanellope's choice of a duel, as was her opponent, Sonic. But then the blue hedgehog merely scoffed, and pulled a stack of golden rings from behind his back. ( ** _Seriously, WHAT?_** )

"I bet fifteen golden rings that you _can't_ ", he said, also stepping closer.

" _You're on_ ", Vanellope replied, her devious grin growing in intensity. She shook Sonic's gloved hand. Ralph shuffled up and knelt by his friend.

"Are you _nuts_?" he whispered to her. "Sonic is the fastest at almost everything. And you chose counting? To _ten_?"

Vanellope lightly waved him off, grin not leaving her adorable face. "Have a little faith, Ralphie. I got this."

Ralph wasn't so sure.

Miles Tails Prower, Sonic's best friend, stepped between the two rivals. He was wearing a black and white referee shirt. ( ** _He sure gets his money's worth, doesn't he?_** ) "Okay, when I say go, start counting. Ready...GO!"

Sonic immediately began speed counting. " _onetwothreefourfivesixseven_.."

"Ten", Vanellope said bluntly. "I win."

Sonic stopped counting, and looked at her with a bemused expression. "How do you figure that? You didn't even count."

"Yes I did", Vanellope retorted. "Ten. I counted to ten, _by_ tens. I win."

Everyone in the group's jaw dropped, including Ralph's. Sonic's ear twitched, a stunned look on his face. He then burst into a fit of laughter.

"Oh, fine. Ya got me", he said, and handed Vanellope the fifteen golden rings he had promised, which she gladly accepted. "You're a clever one."

"Thank _you_!" she replied with a bow. To compliment her victory, everyone, Sonic included, started chanting her name. Vanellope started fist-pumping the air with them.

"Come on, kid! We're gonna be late", Ralph said impatiently. He was happy Vanellope had emerged victorious, but he wanted to get away from this loud and rowdy crowd. Vanellope reluctantly complied, and waved goodbye to the group.

"I hope you were serious about that kart race!" Sonic called after her.

Ralph and Vanellope arrived at the entrance of...

 _"PAC-MAN_? Isn't that the game where the big cheese pizza is chased by the colorful boogers with eyes?" Vanellope asked.

"Yup", said Ralph.

"Isn't that the game that's said to have made the world love video games altogether?" Vanellope asked.

"Yup", said Ralph.

"Isn't that the game you're always stealing cherries from?" Vanellope asked.

"...Yup", Ralph said, more silent this time, proceeding through the game's entrance. Once he stepped inside, however, an alarm rose. The surge protector guard beamed up next to Ralph outta nowhere.

"Oh, for the love of.. WHAT NOW?" Ralph raged at the bald blue holographic man.

"Mandatory security check, sir. Name?" the man replied, eyes not leaving his clipboard.

Ralph groaned and rubbed his temples. He'd never know why this surge protector liked to disrupt him, but he didn't care. He HATED it.

"My name is Ralph. It was Ralph the last 297 times you stopped me. It will still be Ralph the _next_ 297 times you stop me. This is still the PAC-MAN entrance. It was always the PAC-MAN entrance every time you obstructed me from peacefully entering in the past. It has been the PAC-MAN entrance for the past 30 something years. It will always be the PAC-MAN entrance, no matter how many times I try to enter it. I have NO FRUIT. _NONE_. And most importantly, _I HATE YOU, I ALWAYS HAVE HATED YOU, AND I ALWAYS WILL HATE YOU. CAN. I. GO. NOW?_ "

Vanellope giggled at this whole ordeal. _'That blue dude totally has a crush on Stinkbrain!'_ she thought.

The surge protector adjusted his glasses. "Not yet, sir. Because of that whole rocket-ship fiasco you caused, you're now filed under 'possible threats'. I'm going to have to take extra security precautions", he said.

"Precautions?" Ralph muttered with bewilderment. "What do you mean by-"

He paused when the surge protector suddenly put a latex rubber glove on his right hand.

 **smack**

Ralph almost shrieked. Seeing her friend's predicament, Vanellope looked for a way to distract the surge protector from messing with Ralph.

"Uhh...Look! Two generic and unnamed princesses!" she shouted, pointing to the far end of GCS.

"WHERE?" the surge protector exclaimed, and quickly sped off in the direction Vanellope was pointing, dropping his clipboard. Ralph briskly snatched Vanellope and the clipboard and made a beeline for the PAC-MAN terminal. He dove head first into a trolley car, and it started moving inside the game.

"Whew, that was close.. Thanks kid", Ralph said, earning a stifled laugh from Vanellope. "What the heck is on this clipboard anywa-"

After one good look at the first page on the clipboard, Ralph's facial expression suddenly twisted to one of shock, befuddlement, and disgust. After letting out a choked gag, Ralph crushed the clipboard to bits and threw it from the trolley car, and then wiped his hands on the front of his shirt, as if trying to rid himself of the filth he had witnessed.

Soon enough, the trolley reached the inside of the PAC-MAN game. Ralph led Vanellope through the maze of black and blue hallways, until they reached a door. Vanellope heard voices coming from the other side of the door. Ralph motioned for Vanellope to follow him inside, so she did. On the other side of the door was a small room, a room that looked completely different from the maze they had just come from. In the room was a wide assortment of unique game characters unlike anything Vanellope had ever seen. They were all sitting in steel folding chairs placed in a circle, and were having a group conversation. A cyborg man looked up at the two friends who had just entered.

"Yo, Ralph's here!" he said with a gnarly smile. The rest of the game villains also directed their attention to Ralph. Vanellope hid behind Ralph's leg. She was a bit nervous. These characters did indeed look like bad guys!

"Friend Ralph!" Zangief greeted in his thick Russian accent. "Is good to see you. Come, join circle." The other bad guys also gave warm hearted greetings to the wrecker.

"Hey guys", Ralph replied. "Oh, I brought a guest with me. Come on out, kid."

Vanellope slowly peeked out from behind Ralph's leg, and gave a small wave. "Hi."

 **End of Chapter 3**

 _ **Pillo: Warning. In real life, it is highly unlikely that strangers will chant your name just because you can count to ten faster than some dude.**_


End file.
